Making your relationship official is a major life step. Talking openly about how you’ll manage money together, and understanding your legal responsibilities, can help you start strong.
Talk about money early
Whether you walk down the aisle, register a civil partnership, or formalise a de facto relationship, it’s good to talk about and understand each other’s financial situation before you make your relationship official. This helps you make decisions together and avoid surprises later.
Discuss your income, regular expenses, debts, savings, super and any investments.
Talk about your attitude to spending and saving, and what you want for the future. Agreeing on shared goals helps you work as a team.
Check out our relationships and money page for guidance on how to start these conversations.
Decide how you’ll manage your money
There’s no single right way to organise your finances. Choose what works for you both.
Joint accounts - These can make paying shared bills easier, but both people are responsible for all transactions.
Separate accounts - These can give each person independence while still contributing to shared costs.
A mix of both - You might decide to keep a joint account for shared bills and separate accounts for personal spending.
Talk about how you’ll split expenses, who pays which bills and how you’ll track spending. You can use our budget planner to help get a good overview of the money that will be coming in and going out.
Understand the legal changes
Being married or in a registered or de facto relationship can change some of your legal and financial responsibilities.
Your legal status - Your relationship status may change your eligibility for government services, such as pensions and allowances. And while you still file an individual tax return, your relationship status will also affect your entitlement to various rebates and offsets.
Superannuation and beneficiaries - Review the beneficiary nomination you’ve made on your super account, to make sure it reflects your wishes, and look at how you can grow your super together.
Estate planning – Getting married can revoke your existing will (if you have one). See our tips on wills and powers of attorney.
Insurance - Check whether you need to update your health, home, car and life insurance policies to include your partner.
Plan for your financial future
When you’re ready, revisit your goals and make a plan for the next few years. Think about saving for a home, building an emergency fund or planning for children.
Explore our pages on saving, budgeting, getting loans, managing debt, investing and planning.
Use our Moneysmart tools such as the budget planner and savings goal calculator to map out your next steps.
If money conversations feel hard, or if you’re dealing with debt, a financial counsellor can help. Their services are free and confidential.
Your relationship money checklist
A simple checklist to help you stay organised:
check_box Update your details with Services Australia and the ATO, via MyGov
check_box Update your driver licence and passport if you change your name
check_box Review your super beneficiaries
check_box Update insurance policies to include your partner
check_box Review your will and estate plans
check_box Check your bank accounts and decide if you want joint, separate or mixed accounts
These steps help ensure your records are correct and your financial protections stay up to date.